A 6-year-old child hospitalized Sunday after he was hit by a car driven by his grandmother has died.
Luis Ostolaza-Sota Jr. was hit by a black SUV driven by the 59-year-old woman who told police she accidentally drove onto a sidewalk at the Bella Terraza apartment complex at about 2 p.m., striking the boy.
Police said the boy was pinned underneath the passenger side of the SUV when they arrived.
“I saw the car was in the wall (and) the lady was screaming,” witness Rawad Hajizi said. “So I got out and I thought she just hit the wall, but then I saw the kid under the car.”
Authorities said the driver cooperated with the investigation.
Friends and neighbors have started a memorial for Luis outside the apartment where he lived.
"This is the Teddy bear I put down, a sign of love for a family going through so much hurt," said Genesis Morales, who is friends with Luis' cousin. "And know that they have support from everybody else."
Every year, thousands of children are hurt or killed because a driver moving forward very slowly didn’t see them in the area directly in front of a vehicle, according to KidsAndCars.org, a nonprofit dedicated to keeping children safe around vehicles.
The organization asked WJCT News to remind drivers that most vehicles on the road have front end blind spots that extend six to eight feet in front of the driver. The blind spot in the back is even worse for those without backup cameras. It can be as much as 50 feet, according to KidsandCars.org.
Additional information, including safety tips is available at theKidsAndCars website.